African Hunter Published Books Campfire Tales Volume 3 of 20 | Page 9

Early next morning saw us heading for the scene of action,
quite confident of an early recovery to be followed by a hearty
breakfast, photo session, and calls all round to discreetly inform
everyone of breaking the Sij jinx etc, etc. But we soon had a small
problem; the buff was not where he was supposed to be. There was
blood alright, and fortunately not stomach blood, but neither was it
the frothy blood which we were expecting to find. He had moved
with the herd, and by all indications we now had a buff that was hit
but still able to move off after a few hours. In other words, our next
meeting with him would not be a very cordial one, as he probably
had plenty of energy left to give vent to his feelings! Things had
suddenly become very serious, and the easy going banter tailed
off very quickly. While putting in some training for this trip, I had
often joked with my friends about the need for speed of foot when
the buffalo comes for you, but right now this one was a candidate
for the sick jokes prize! A charge was a distinct possibility, and as
we were not filming for any hunting video, it was not something
to look forward to!
Back home, we often have to follow up wounded wild boar
in thick scrub, forest and sometimes even in sugarcane. But Cape
Buffalo is a different proposition altogether, and it was comforting
to have enough gun in your hands (both of us were using .458
Lotts) and an experienced PH by your side. Our buff had probably
moved with the herd, which in turn had obliterated the blood trail.
Hence there was no alternative but to follow the herd.
Mentally, I was prepared for a long day’s tracking. Imagine
our surprise when we came upon the buff lying in the shadows
between two rocks not far from where we had lost the blood trail.
Had Dean not seen him, we would have walked right into him as
he was less than fifteen yards away. He was alive, but in bad shape.
An anchoring shot in the back and then a final one in the neck
finished off the hunt, but there was relief all round as we had got
African Hunter Magazine - Campfire Tales, Volume Three

Page 9